Palos Verdes Falls Short Against Tustin

Palos Verdes, which had answered every defensive challenge through three rounds of the playoffs, finally met its match on Wednesday night in the CIF 3-A basketball semifinals.

The Sea Kings never found a way to neutralize the talents of Tustin center Leo Parker Jr., who scored a game-high 25 points, including four key baskets in the fourth quarter, to lead the Tillers to a 63-59 win at Redondo High.

Parker, a rangy 6-6 senior, made 12 of 17 field goals and also was a force on defense, blocking several shots.

“Of all the teams we faced in the playoffs, he’s the only one who dominated the game offensively,” said Palos Verdes Coach John Mihaljevich, whose team fell one game short of a Sports Arena appearance for the second straight year.

“He carried them throughout the game. I thought we defended him as well as we could. He put in some hard shots.”

Tustin (24-5) will face Kennedy of La Palma (21-7) for the 3-A championship at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Sports Arena. Palos Verdes finished at 19-9.

Parker’s last basket, a short jumper from the base line, gave Tustin a 60-56 lead with 1:53 remaining, setting the stage for an exciting finish.

Two free throws by point guard John Mika (18 points) pulled Palos Verdes to within two, 60-58, with 1:17 left, and the Sea Kings got the ball back when B. Lesean London of Tustin missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Palos Verdes tried to work the ball inside, but forward Jeff Whitley had the ball stolen near mid-court by London, who was fouled. The senior guard hit one of two free throws to give the Tillers a 61-58 lead with 17 seconds left.

Whitley rebounded a three-point miss by Mika and was fouled in the key with three seconds left. After hitting the first free throw, Whitley intentionally shot the ball off the right side of the rim, but Tustin’s Lunyon Maxwell iced the game by grabbing the rebound before he was fouled.

“I think we played a good game,” Mihaljevich said. “Little things like missed free throws and turnovers hurt us.

“Right now I feel sorry for the three kids (Mika, Whitley and forward Mike Matteoni) who helped get us this far last year. They came up one game short again.”

Mika and Whitley (16 points) combined for all 15 of Palos Verdes fourth-quarter points. Matteoni, who did a good job on the offensive boards, added 12.